Nanoracks Opens First Alabama Location At Huntsville’s Lincoln Mill

Crunkleton Marketing July 27, 2021 Announcements, Client Spotlight 0 Comment

Nanoracks, an international private in-space services company that is part of Voyager Space Holdings, will soon open its first Alabama-based office at the newly redeveloped Lincoln Mill campus. With locations based in Houston, TX; Washington DC; Abu Dhabi, UAE; Turin, Italy; and even the International Space Station, Nanoracks focuses on the repurposing of in-space hardware with the ultimate goal of turning it into agile space stations. According to the aerospace company, they chose Huntsville as the next location in order to be close to the Marshall Space Flight Center and to take advantage of the city’s space industry, proximity to government offices, and impressive talent pool.

“There are many centers for the space industry around the country, but Marshall Space Flight Center is undoubtedly one of the most important,” said Robbie Harris, Director of Outpost Advance Technologies at Nanoracks. “Opening a new office in the Rocket City was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up. When we discovered Lincoln Mill, we decided it was the perfect location to attract and retain talent, provide an easy commute, and create a one-of-a-kind office that has access to all of the modern amenities we could ask for.”

Nanoracks’ Huntsville office will be around 2,500 square feet and have a distinctive design that will serve as a “think tank” for its Outpost Advanced Technology division. Its office is expected to be open and fully operational in Q4 2021.

The objective of the Outpost Program is to repurpose launch vehicle upper stages as payload hosting platforms with the long-term vision of transforming the repurposed upper stage into habitable space stations.

Robbie and his growing Huntsville team will be focused on identifying and developing the required technologies that will enable next-generation outposts. The team at Nanoracks believes that their technology and philosophy on reducing, reusing, and recycling is crucial to the future of space infrastructure and economy because it sets the precedence for repurposing in useful ways and diminishing waste.

“Since its genesis, Nanoracks has been making space more accessible to many,” said Nate Bishop, Outpost Program Director. “We work every day to make space more sustainable by lowering the barrier and making repurposing a standard throughout the industry.”

Lincoln Mill has a unique history with Huntsville’s space program, and Nanoracks is excited to contribute to the property’s next chapter. In 1957, businessmen saw an opportunity in the site and took steps to reopen Lincoln Mill after a renovation. It aimed to attract the Army Missile Command and Wernher von Braun to Huntsville. After its renovations were completed, the site reopened as the “Huntsville Industrial Complex” (H.I.C.) and was the founding home of Brown Engineering.

The space industry utilized the site as the place where hundreds of engineers worked on Huntsville’s early rocket and missile programs. One of its purposes was to house the development of NASA’s Lunar Rover. This machine made off-road space excursion possible and allowed astronauts to bring back moon rock samples to earth—among other things.

“The property’s history with NASA was yet another reason we were so attracted to Lincoln Mill,” said Robbie. “It’s a unique opportunity to bring the next generation of space technology to a site where so many past advancements took place. We plan on our office being fully functional in Q4 of this year. We look forward to investing in Huntsville and giving our future employees an office environment they will enjoy.”

Eric St. John, CCIM and Vice President of Crunkleton Commercial Real Estate helped Nanoracks secure the space at Lincoln Mill.

“Nanoracks is a natural fit for Huntsville and it was an honor to help them expand into the Rocket City,” said Eric. “At Crunkleton, we put a lot of effort into researching and reporting the latest office trends. It is one thing to read about it but another to see it continually executed within our market. Nanoracks’ office will have plenty of collaborative space, access to on-site fitness centers, coffee, restaurants, and more. We’re excited they are joining us in Huntsville and we look forward to seeing how they shape the future of the space industry.”

For more information on Nanoracks, visit www.nanoracks.com. You can also follow the company on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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